POLSC 135 1st Edition Lecture 4 Outline of Last Lecture Logic examples Outline of Current Lecture Comparative Method Current Lecture I II Comparative Methods The goal of comparative methods is to identify the cause of political events What is a cause A cause is a necessary or sufficient condition A circumstance in whose absence the event in question cannot occur Y never happens unless X happens Necessary cause the effect is within the cause Ex Oxygen is a necessary condition for fire Sufficient condition A circumstance in whose presence the event in question must occur Y always happens if X happens If X then Y If not X then not Y Comparative method John Stuart Mill Method of Agreement when the cases agree on the phenomenon to be explained Method of Difference what the cases differ on the phenomenon to be explained Mill s method of agreement does not provide whether wealth is a sufficient condition for democracy Mill s method of difference requires that the phenomenon to be explained is present in one case but not in the other Critiquing Mill s Comparative Method In order to draw valid inferences from Mill s methods special assumptions must be met 1 Casual processes must be deterministic A deterministic cause is one that always leads to the specific outcome 2 We have identified all of the possible causes and they work independently of each other Mill s method tells us what happens but not why something happens The process by which theories are developed is missing in his methods These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture It is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute III Important terms to note from this lecture series for midterm memorize them and their definitions Categorical Syllogism Comparative Method Method of Agreement Method of Difference Necessary Sufficient conditions End Lecture
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